News Release

RED WING, Minn. — Motorists on Highway 61 near the Highway 63/ Eisenhower Bridge in Red Wing will be detoured from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Aug. 29 and 30 as construction crews set new beams for the small bridge over Highway 61,according to the Minnesota and Wisconsin departments of transportation.

The Highway 63/Eisenhower Bridge will remain open during this work. The work is only expected to affect Highway 61. However, motorists traveling to or from downtown Red Wing will need to use the Highway 61 detour since the new buttonhook ramp has been opened and drivers will not be able to go underneath the Highway 61 bridge.

The Highway 61 detour will be from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., on Aug. 29 and 30. Traffic on Highway 61 will be closed during that eight-hour period, but will reopen in time for the morning commute and daily traffic.
Beginning on Aug. 29, the new beams will be placed on the new bridge over Highway 61 in two successive nights, weather permitting. Motorists will use the temporary bridge over Highway 61 that connects to the new button hook signalized intersection with Highway 61.

The detour route will take northbound Highway 61 traffic on Goodhue County Road 21/Flower Valley Road west to Highway 58, and then travel north on Highway 58 into Red Wing. Southbound motorists will follow the route in reverse. Again, traffic using the Hwy 63/Eisenhower Bridge to/from downtown Red Wing will need to use the detour because of the slip ramp’s closure and the work over Highway 61. A map of the detour will be available on the MnDOT project website at: mndot.gov.us/d6/projects/redwing-bridge/.

The Highway 63/Eisenhower Bridge project includes building a new bridge to replace the Highway 63/Eisenhower Bridge, replacing the historic slip ramp Highway 63 Bridge over Highway 61, reconstructing approach roadways in Minnesota and Wisconsin, improving access to Red Wing and upgrading pedestrian and bicyclist crossings. The prime contractor on this $63.4 million construction project is Zenith Tech. The new bridge is expected to open to traffic by fall of 2019.

Motorists should always be attentive, drive with caution, slow down in work zones and never enter a road blocked with barriers or cones. For real-time traffic information in Minnesota, call 511 or visit 511mn.org.